


See It Through

by orphan_account



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-04 01:08:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10979193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Valkyrie?" His voice sounded hoarse. Like a dying man's voice. She had heard to many of those. The line of work that she did made sure she could never forget that kind of sound"Yes" She noticed the shake in her own voice. A deep breath out and the receiver went silent, and she stood there looking across the room. She forced her thumb to end the call just as Skulduggery was walking in. His footsteps were silent as ever.





	1. Chapter 1

"I'm dying" the voice on the telephone said. Valkyrie knew for a fact who it was but she couldn't bring herself to move. The person that helped her get back Skulduggery is dying. Her teacher and maybe even her friend is dying and she is frozen to the spot. Receiver halfway to her ear. Valkyrie's legs felt like lead and jelly at the same time. She forced herself to breathe

"Valkyrie?" His voice sounded hoarse. Like a dying man's voice. She had heard to many of those. The line of work that she did made sure she could never forget that kind of sound

"Yes" She noticed the shake in her own voice. A deep breath out and the receiver went silent, and she stood there looking across the room. She forced her thumb to end the call just as Skulduggery was walking in. His footsteps were silent as ever. Everything looked like it was in slow motion. Her phone dropped onto the floor with a soft thud. The room tilted. Instead of looking at the wall she was staring at the crease near where the wall joins the ceiling. Vaguely she noticed Skulduggery walk closer. No, he ran closer. Black spots appeared in her vision and her head swam. 

She was fainting. The last time she fainted was at Gordon's all those years ago. She remembered the same symptoms. Her sight was becoming hazier and hazier. Barely noticing the boney hands digging into her sides covered by expensive leather gloves that Ghastly had tailored for him. She welcomed the darkness

She awoke in her bed at Skulduggery's. A glass of water on the nightstand by the bed. A faint clock ticked somewhere. She felt sick. Dashing to the toilet she threw up the contents of her breakfast. Splashing water on her face and rising her mouth out she looked at herself in front of the mirror. She looked clammy and gross. Pale like she'd just seen a ghost.

"Solomon" She croaked. Her throat felt raw, so she took a long drink of water straight from the tap and wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve. Skulduggery wouldn't have approved. Speaking of Skulduggery. Where was he? Gathering her strength up she walked to the hallway and into one of the living rooms. A purple sticky note was left on top of the table top and she looked at it closely. Skulduggery's writing

"I'm going to investigate the murder. I didn't take you because you need to rest and I am aware that you probably don't want to look at it. I know how you react to things like this. I won't be long. If you need me, call me." - S

She scoffed at the note and took out her phone. Selecting the text message app she took a second to think of something to tell him that she was up without getting a follow up question about Solomon or how she was feeling. "It's a tad pointless to sign your name on the post-it you left me. I know who left the note. Who else would it be?" She heard a murmured agreement on the other end of the line and she could picture his emotionless face mulling over what she had just said.

"Just a tad" He replied. She hated the next question she was about to bring up but she couldn't help herself

"So...When are you coming home?" She noticed how she had referred to his house and by the sound of silence on the receiver so did he. She decided to ignore it.

"Well I'm parked up at Roarhaven right now and you are prohibiting me from driving since it is illegal for me to drive whilst talking on the phone."

"Well okay I'll see you when you get back from Roarhaven" She brushed her hair out of her eyes and worried her lip. She didn't want to be alone much longer.

Time passed much like it has always done. The clock ticked and the birds sung and the funeral parlours down the road continued to bicker. Valkyrie watched them through one of the living room windows. An angry man with salt-and-pepper coloured hair was face to face with the younger ginger fellow from across the street. Valkyrie couldn't make out what they were saying to each other but she could see how red the face of the ginger Gentleman was going and she decided that it was probably unimportant. She began to daydream. Thinking about Skulduggery's family and his family crest as she gazed off at the green hills. Valkyrie wondered if he was always like he was. Of course he wasn't always so angry and hurt to the literal and figurative bone. But was that spark still there? Was Lord vile always a part of him like Darquesse was always a part of her.

The familiar sound of the Bentley's engine brought her back from the land of make-believe and fantasy. The gleaming black body paint of the car reflected the faded Irish sun. Walking down stairs she found her mouth suddenly dry.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery walked through the door and put down his keys on a brown wooden table besides the door.

"Hey." She cleared her throat and wet her lips, "Hey" She said a little louder this time as she rounded the corner from the stairs. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut in 

"You know that letter is for you, right" She motioned to the letter left on the table next to the keys. Of course he knew it was his but Valkyrie knew his next words would be carefully chosen apologies. It wasn't his fault Wreath was dead so why bother is condolences? "It's been there for weeks."

He closed his mouth and whirled around. "Oh, I know. I just don't feel like opening it."

"Did you even know it was there until now?" Valkyrie replied, grinning and shoving her hands in her back pockets.

"Well, uh. No, I didn't" He sighed and put his hat down next to his keys "Valkyrie." He started.

"Skulduggery, we really don't have to do this whole sorry thing. It's happened and we can't undo that" She huffed but felt guilty for her anger. It's not his fault after all.

"Well, actually I was wondering if you wanted to go home. You've not seen your family for a while and I think you need to rest." She thought for a moment and she nodded.

"Yeah, It's been what? Three days..?" Valkyrie said 

"Seven, Valkyrie. It's been a week..." Skulduggery said gently. Wow had it been a week already? Every week here seemed to go so much faster than at her house in Haggard.


	2. Chapter 2

They drove in silence across the back roads of the county. Valkyrie watched as the lush green countryside was replaced with sand. The salty sea smelt wonderfully and she enjoyed a deep breath of it before forcing herself out of the car.

"I'll call you if I find anything, okay?" He said with a tilt of his head. Valkyrie nodded and began her walk to her house.

Once through her window she performed her ritual of hiding her clothes and touching the mirror. Crawling into bed she lets out a soft sigh as she buries her face into the cushion. Not even bothering to shower. She had one at Skulduggery's. She'll live until the morning where she can pretend to be normal again.  
Time passes really slowly in the dark. That's the second thing Valkyrie noticed. She never really noticed before. Usually she is too tired to think once under the protective safety of her light blue blanket. The first thing she noticed was how hollow she felt. But why? Sure, she knew Solomon. But it wasn't like they were best friends or anything. Outside of her training they were little more than strangers. So why was she so upset?

_Because another person has died because of you_

The corner of her mind whispered. No, not because of me. They don't know that yet!

_But you know it's true_ said the voice 

"Shut up!" Valkyrie whispered aloud to herself viciously

_No._

Darquesse chuckled darkly

After hours of tossing and turning and only her mind for company Valkyrie had finally had enough. Abandoning the warmth of her bed she got up and pulled on her blue dressing gown that her mum had gotten her for her birthday last year. She took her phone off of the white dresser and pressed quick dial.

"Valkyrie" Skulduggery's warm voice made her shiver

"Hey" She smiled into the phone

"Can't sleep?" He asked but already knew the answer. If she could sleep she would not be calling him at this hour.

"Something like that" She mused as she pulled her socks and boots on to keep her feet warm. "I know you're in my garden by the way. You can come in"

"How did you know I was in the garden?"

"I heard you shooing away a cat earlier. You're not really very sneaky"

"Yes I am" She noted the fake pout in his voice and smiled for the second time that night.

"Are you going to let me in?" She turned round and saw him perching on the window sill. The moon illuminated his skull perfectly. Transforming it into a glowing orb. Ending the call Valkyrie went over to the window and opened it. Careful not to knock him off. They sat in silence for a while. Valkyrie sat on the bed with her back to the wall with her legs pulled up to her chest. He sat across from Valkyrie. Cross legged against the dresser. They could hear her parents across the hall snoring. Safe.

"It's Darquesse again, isn't it" He whispered to the other side of the room.

"Yeah" She whispered back. "How did you know?"

"Sometimes Vile would talk to me" It was rare that Vile was ever mentioned and even rarer that Skulduggery talked about his time as Vile. "Tell me lies that I believed to be true. Convince me I had done bad things when in reality those options were the only ones I had" His skull dropped down as he talked to her. Skulduggery's hat tipped over his eyes.

"She thinks I killed Wreath" There was no emotion in her voice. He tilted his head up at her. Even in the dark she could feel his eyeless gaze being cast at her. 

"Did you?" The silence between them is defining but comfortable. Why would he think that Valkyrie killed Wreath?

"No, absolutely not. I was with you. Remember?" Valkyrie stated calmly. He takes a breath of air. Like he has lungs that need it. After all these years Valkyrie still hasn't asked why he does it. She speculates it's out of habit. Skulduggery doesn't do it a lot. That's why it has her on edge.

"Valkyrie," He takes off his hat. The light reflects perfectly off of his skull again as he leans in the way of the moonlight. His voice is careful and Valkyrie feels like she's a spooked animal. Ready to run or fight in the turn of his next words. Over all the years she spent with Skulduggery she knew the warning signs of bad news. This isn't going to go over well and Skulduggery knows this.

"The found your hair at the crime scene. The sanctuary are going to want to put you in custody." Skulduggery stands up and scoops his hat back up off of the floor

"What do you mean? What the fuck are you talking about?" She gets up and raises her voice as he opens the windows. Wordlessly he drops from the window sill. Valkyrie slams the windows shut and curls up in the bed after she kicks off her boots.


	3. Chapter 3

Valkyrie woke up with tear stains on her pillow. She sighed and turned the pillow over. Reaching for her phone she blinked against the harsh back screen light. 7:49. She had slept in. Groaning, Valkyrie pulled herself up and got dressed. Bits and pieces of the night before flickered and her blood ran cold. How much of it was true? Her boots and armoured clothes were still under the bed so it must have been a dream. Right? Jumping in the shower, she let her head roll back as the soft, warm water worked through her knotted muscles. Energising her worn out body. Her parents were still asleep so she touched the mirror and let The Reflection out of it's glass cage. Skulduggery sent her a text and she was straight out the window. Easy as that. 

The drive to Skulduggery's was in silence. Everything swirled through Valkyrie's head and he could sense that. Over the years they had shared countless silence's. It was practically second nature to them both that if the mood was set it was to be kept like that until the fog had been blown away naturally. Obviously there was no telling when the silences would occur or vanish but there was nothing they could do.

"Did..." Valkyrie look from the window to his face. "Did you come into my room last night?" 

"Hmm? Yeah, your window was unlocked. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Don't worry, you didn't do anything that embarrassing" Skulduggery's eyeless gaze was kept to the road and she looked back to the rushing houses and scenery.

"What did I do?" Valkyrie could feel her face heat up as she scoured her memories in search of anything mildly regretful.

"You sleep talked a bit. Mumbled nonsense mostly about Darquesse. You seemed pretty half asleep." He waved it off. Ahh, she remembers now.

"What did Lord Vile try and get you to do?" Valkyrie almost thinks she's overstepped. She thinks he's going to tell her to mind her own business. Tell her not to bring him up. But no, Skulduggery isn't like that. He is patient when it comes to Vile. He doesn't answer all her questions, he doesn't have to. They know each other enough to know when they have crossed boundaries. 

"Hmm?" Skulduggery takes the left to the cemetery 

"Last night. You told me that he used to try and make you do things" She clarifies. 

"Oh, yeah. He used to try and make me believe I had done things. Blurred the lines between reality and my own thoughts. Not good stuff as you can imagine" 

"I know how that feels," She huffs to herself. "Not good stuff at all."


	4. Chapter 4

"What are you thinking about?" Skulduggery murmured as he walked to the side of Valkyrie. The corridor was filled with quiet mumbles and burning stares. He had gotten used to this attention. Valkyrie on the other hand, had not. She longed to punch the snicker off of the faces of those around her. 

"I was wondering how people can see a dead man and connect me to his murder" She replied. People scurried past Valkyrie with their heads down and their hoods up pretending not to stare from the corner of their eyes. 

"People talk." Skulduggery replied without looking at her. "They always have and they always will unfortunately," 

"Yeah, well. They should stop" She seethed as a cloaked worshipper walked past her and bashed her shoulder. 

"Did I scream at you last night? Y'know, when I was half asleep?" They turn left down the corridor to a secluded room with no purpose. Skulduggery tapped on the back wall and the bricks re-arranged themselves not unlike in Harry Potter. Valkyrie nearly commented on its similarities to the first book.

"Not that I remember," Once the bricks had re-arranged themselves in such away that a person could just about squeeze past Skulduggery lead the way through the cold passage. Valkyrie cringed as she forced herself through the small space. "Like I said, you mumbled nonsense, and I left" 

"Right" She cleared her throat and pushed the little distance into a bigger, colder space that smelled musky, like an old Church. In the room was a group of people she had never met before. 

"Skulduggery, Valkyrie. Please, sit down," The head of the table said. The chairs dragged across the stone tiled floor with an awful, scraping sound. 

"Did you know that Wreath was last seen in Haggard?" A file was passed over from the opposite side of the room. Contained in it was a picture taken from CCTV footage of Solomon's familiar face checking some sort of hand held device.

"What's this?" Valkyrie leaned on the table with her elbows. Skulduggery moved to give her a better view of the picture containing the evidence.

"Look's like a voice recorder" The head of the room supplied helpfully. 

"Can we keep this?" Skulduggery moved his head from the file to look up at the Necromancers with his eyeless gaze

"If you want, detective." The man said "Just make sure it is kept safely. Don't want it falling into the wrong hands as cliche as it sounds."

"Why's that then?" Valkyrie flipped through the file. Her 

"We have reason to believe that his murder was done by one of us but we can't be sure yet" The head spoke up. His voice echoed throughout the small, grey room. 

"Right, thank you. We shall be going now." They excused themselves and came back the way they came. Behind them the wall closed and Valkyrie guessed it was safe to speak

"I don't trust them." Valkyrie muttered to Skulduggery as they made their way down the cemetery path and to the waiting Bentley 

"Good. I thought I was the only one" Skulduggery but the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. 

"Are we going back to your house now?" Valkyrie looked back through the pale file as they took off down the road

"Indeed we are" Skulduggery said

"Great" Valkyrie groaned. "More research"


	5. Chapter 5

Groaning Valkyrie put her book down harshly on the floor. They'd been researching for over six hours and she was exhausted and hadn't found a single helpful thing. Skulduggery bids her goodnight and she walks off to get into the shower before bed. After, Valkyrie got into her night wear she lay her head down on the pillow and shut her eyes against the darkness of her room. One of Skulduggery's old French record player was playing softly in the background. 

When Valkyrie wakes up her black hair is stuck to her face and she's gasping for breathe. She shoves the Fight or Flight urge down as she pulls on her dressing gown. All the lights were off signalling that Skulduggery was somewhere meditating. Usually at least some lights were left on for Valkyrie. Skulduggery technically didn't need the lights to see.

"Sk-Skul?" Valkyrie called softly into one of the many empty living rooms. No reply. Slowly she searched throughout the vast house and finally found the room where he was sat in an upright position. His sleeves rolled up now revealed bone. His skin-bare fingertips where flexing slightly.

She crept into the room not bothering to knock. Suddenly feeling like a child she curled up onto the couch by his armchair and closed her eyes again. 

"Rough night?" Skulduggery said. Making her jump. 

"Sorry I didn't mean to disturb you" She mumbled as his fingertips grazed her open palm in a comforting circle. 

"It's alright, Valkyrie." Skulduggery whispered. "Just try and go back to sleep" He sounded tired. Valkyrie felt guilty for waking him up. It must be so weird only needing to sleep once or twice every few weeks. "What's on your mind?" He asked as he got up. Ignoring Valkyrie telling him to go back to meditating. 

"...I think I killed Wreath" She bit her lip.

"Why do you think that?" He called from the other room as he put the kettle on 

"Darquesse keeps putting these images into my head" Valkyrie replied. "Pictures of me standing over him, a knife in my hands" 

"Valkyrie, listen," Skulduggery passed her a cup of tea. "They are just dreams." 

"No, these are more than dreams. They feel like memories." 

"Trust me. I've been through this. They are dreams"

Valkyrie let some time pass before speaking again. Drinking the tea Skulduggery had made her as she thought about her next words.

"I think I know why Wreath was in Haggard," Another sip of sweet, hot tea. Skulduggery looked at her and she decided to carry on with her train of thought. "He wanted me to know that he might be murdered. He wanted us on the case to solve it.

"That seems reasonable. When did you figure that out? Skulduggery asked.

"When we were in the Temple" Valkyrie replied, having another sip of tea.

"I was talking to the elders... They seem to think we're too close to this. They want to let another detective figure this one out" Skulduggery said as he got comfortable on the arm chair again. If Valkyrie had to guess she would say that Skulduggery had his eyes closed.

"What did you say to that?" Valkyrie asked

"I told them where to shove it" Valkyrie grinned at his reply as she pictured the Grand Mage spluttering,his face going red.


	6. Chapter 6

The rain ran down the windows of Valkyrie’s parents house. She was in her room listening to a band that Fletcher had introduced her to. Her phone notified her of a text message from an unfamiliar number. Hesitantly she opened the message and pulled on her protective clothing. Sending a quick screenshot to Skulduggery as she jumped from her window and took off to the pier alone.

Valkyrie Cain’s hair was plastered to her head as she jogged to the pier. The clouds up ahead rumbled low with thunder and spurred her on. The terrible weather was almost comical as the situation played out in front of her. There standing on the beach Solomon Wreath stood at the pier looking over the churning sea with a scowl. Wreath would much rather sit inside away from it all. But still, this had to happen.

"Hello," Valkyrie said. Feeling out of place

"Valkyrie," Wreath turned to her. His back to the troubled ocean. "It is good to see you." 

"You're leaving. Aren't you?" She said. Not needing an answer.

"Unfortunately my time here is drawing to an end. It's not safe here for me."

"I understand," Valkyrie nodded. "Does Skulduggery know?" 

"No he doesn't. See what I did was an old necromancer trick. He doesn't need to know that I am alive." Wreath walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. And with that he shadow walked. Valkyrie hummed to herself. It still doesn't impress her.


End file.
